Slice of love
by Tigerrosewood
Summary: "How come you're not afraid of me?" He asked from behind her. The disbelief could be heard in his voice. She sighed and watched the city bustling below them. "People are afraid of what they don't understand," she stated and slowly moved away from the edge of the building. "With you, I feel like I've always understood."
1. Chapter 1

Nocturnal

Definition: active mainly during the night.

It's not that she had to, she just enjoyed the night better. She felt more energetic and confident when the sun went down. Plus it was convenient to her job, because in the city that never sleeps, someone was always hungry.

As the sky faded into pink, a loud, blaring alarm sounded through the small apartment. She groaned and shifted under her pile of blankets, not yet ready to leave her nest of warmth for the cold chill that awaited outside. She laid still for a few more minutes, ignoring the obnoxious beeping until the small creature at her feet started to bark. Sitting up, she reached over to her nightstand and slapped the off button on her alarm, patting the small whining ball of fur that had made its way into her lap.

Polly was a mixed breed of something she wasn't sure of, the neighbor's dog that she got paid to watch during the day while her owners were at work. She wasn't yappy or aggressive, and all she really did most of the time was sleep. The small dog jumped off of the bed and waddled over to the door, waiting to be sent home.

It took her human friend a little longer to finally crawl out of the tangle of blankets and drag herself to the bathroom. After doing her business and washing her face, she yanked her hair into a ponytail and proceeded to put on her work clothes, which conceited of a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans. After throwing on a large hoodie and lacing up her sneakers, she grabbed her backpack and opened the door for Polly. The fur-ball shot out into the hall and bounced around while her pet-sitter locked up her apartment.

Just as she slid the key out of the knob, a woman came up the stairs, carrying a few bags of what she assumed was groceries. Polly barked excitedly and ran to greet her owner, running circles around her feet while the woman stopped in front of her door.

"Good evening, Edith." She greeted, laughing at her pet's antics.

"Evenin' Ms. Cooper." The younger girl smiled, pulling her glasses out of her pocket and pushing them onto her face.

"Heading off to work?" Ms. Cooper asked as she unlocked her door, opening it so Polly could go inside.

"Yes ma'am." She answered politely, rocking back and forth on her feet. Her neighbor nodded solemnly.

"Well be careful, dear. You know how dangerous this city gets at night."

Edith hummed in understanding and thanked the older women as she slowly backed down the hall and towards the stairs.

"Have a good night Ms. Cooper, and tell Ann I said 'hello'." The back of her foot was over the edge of the top step, and she grabbed the railing to keep from falling.

"I will, dear. Now go on before you're late." The woman laughed, making Edith blush. She said her goodbye before running down the stairs.

After nearly tripping on the last flight down, she slowed her pace to the lobby. As she walked through, she waved to the guy behind the front desk, bidding him goodnight as she retrieved her bike from the recroom. She rolled it out of the door, pulling her red hat out of her bag before peddling off.

Edith worked the nightshift at an all night pizza parlor, usually running deliveries around the city on her bike. Her boss was sometimes reluctant to let her with all the footclan and purple dragon nonsense, but she had yet to have a problem with them, so she continued to bring the strange people of New York their pizza fix.

She locked her bike on the rack outside of Antonio's, making sure her work labeled hat sat right on her head before going inside. It wasn't particularly busy yet, only a few people scattered around the front. A young couple giggling quietly over some cheeses-sticks, a mom with her child and his friends, celebrating a birthday it seemed like.

Edith made her way from the front and through the doors that lead to the kitchen, punching her card and throwing her backpack in her locker. It seemed that not everyone who worked the nightshift was there yet, so she quickly got to work before she got yelled at by the manager.

It was almost nine when she was finally sent out on her first two deliverys of the night, the first to a brownstone a few blocks away, and the other to an apartment building nearly across the city. She groaned as she strapped the two warming bags to the back of her bike.

Normally deliveries that far out were up to the people who had cars, but Samantha was already out and Kevin hadn't showed up for work. So Edith was on the job, not necessarily happy about it, but she took it anyway. The delivery to the brownstone only took a few minutes, and she was given a pretty generous tip, so she was less agitated when she had to haul ass across the city to make it in time.

Once she made it to the building she locked her bike and grabbed the pizzas, checking the receipt to make sure she had the right floor and room number. She was thankful there was an elevator so she didn't have to risk dropping multiple boxes of pizza down the stairs(it had happened before).

Once she made it to her destination, she knocked loudly on the door. The multiple voices that she could here got quite, and one called out.

"Who is it?" Well that person is definitely male, Edith noted, her ears picking up how gruff his voice was.

"Pizza." She replied, wondering who was going to answer the door. She clearly herd one person exclaim 'food!' excitedly, then what sounded like a wrestling match. Finally a woman opened the door, one she actually recognized.

"Uh hi," she started, reading out the order. "I got four large, pepperoni pizzas and an order of breadsticks for April O'neil?"

"That's me." April said cheerfully. Edith let her sign her receipt and pay before handing her the large stack of pizzas.

She noticed that the news reporter looked a little frazzled, and couldn't help but wonder what she had been up to before she knocked. She was about to turn and leave when she was halted by the woman.

"Hey wait," she said. "Let me set these down and I'll give you a tip."

Edith was about to tell her it was fine, but April was already back through her door, so she just stood there, trying not to seem awkward. She could still here the multiple people in the apartment, and from what she could tell they were psyched about being fead. She knew it was rude to listen in, but she couldn't really help it. There wasn't much for her to do while she stood out there.

Just when she thought they had forgotten about her, April appeared in the doorway, a small wad of cash in her hand. She handed it to the smaller girl with a smile, bidding her a goodnight. Edith gave her thanks and went on her way, counting the tip as she went down the elevator. It was fifteen dollars, which was a hell of a lot more than what she usually got in tips. She smiled and put it in her pocket along with the other, pulling her hat further onto her head as she stepped out onto the cold.


	2. Chapter 2

**I really like reviews...just sayin...**

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Edith's shift ended at exactly three O'clock, at which she clocked her card, grabbed her bag and left. She had only had a few deliveries that night, and had gotten just enough tips to get some dinner with a little left over. After grabbing some of her favorite takeout she peddled back to her apartment, picked up her mail, and locked herself in the safety and warmth of her home.

If there was one thing Edith hated, it was the cold. It was one of the only things she hated about moving to New York. Where she was from it never really got below 60 degrees even in December, and even the slightest hint of snow could cancel school.

She quickly turned on her heater and kicked off her shoes, setting her food down on her bed before pulling off her hoodie and piling her hair on top of her head. After she was comfortable, she pulled her laptop out from under her covers and turned it on, munching on noodles while she waited.

When Edith was seventeen, she was hired to write articles for an online magazine. She could do it from anywhere as long as she had internet, and it paid enough to allow her to live in her tiny, studio apartment. She could live off of the magazine paycheck alone if she wished, but continued her nighttime job so she had extra spending money if she ever needed it.

She usually wrote about simple things, events around the city, people's opinions on political issues, people saving helpless animals, all vanilla things. But something she really wanted to touch down on was the new gang that seem to be surfacing all around the city, the purple dragons.

Only a few things were written about them other than news reports, and Edith wanted to know more. She wanted to were they originated from, what there target crimes were, and what people had to do to get in. She already had a whole file of information she had collected on them, but it wasn't near enough to write an article on.

Anyone would have thought that she was crazy for wanting that information, and the few people she had asked about it told her exactly that. Edith didn't really care, she had always wanted to learn about the darker things in life.

After turning in her work for that week, she finished her food and watched random shows online until Polly was dropped off at her door at six in the morning. After the fur ball was situated, Edith got ready for bed. Once her curtains were closed and the room was completely dark, she crawled under her pile of blankets and let sleep take over her.

. . .

To say she was angry was an understatement. Edith was livid.

She cursed under her breath as she strapped the pizza bags to her bike, wishing the cruelest of punishments on the dick-bag that caused this. Kevin, who had yet to show up for his job in the last week, was the reason Edith was currently contemplating homicide. Between her and Samantha, they both had to split his delivery load (which was actually pretty fucking heavy) until the manager hired someone to replace him.

Now Edith was peddling across the city, in the cold, on a Saturday night. She had already delivered to three parties, one of which was all drunk teenagers (who tipped her thirty bucks, surprisingly), now she was on her way to a place she had become familiar with.

April O'neil's apartment.

And no, it wasn't because she was stalking the news reporter. It was because this was the forth time in the last two weeks she had delivered to this place. It was always the same thing every time. She could here the rambunctious voices behind the door before she ever knocked. April was the only one who ever answered, and she wondered why the others didn't. Edith was aware that her way if thinking was a tad bit creepy, but as she knocked on the door for the fourth time, she knew she couldn't help it.

Before she could call out 'pizza' the door was already open, a very tall (and rather buff) guy standing in front of her.

Now anyone who was of normal height was considered tall to Edith (because she was the size of a 12 year old), but she had to look up a pretty good ways over the pizza boxes to see his face. He smiled when he spotted the food she held and called out behind him.

"Pizzas here!"

Edith could here the excited chatter as the man took the boxes, but she couldn't help but notice that his voice was one she hadn't heard before among the others, and quickly chastised herself for the strange thought. The man signed the receipt and gave her the money, April quickly running up behind him to give her a tip.

Edith gave them both a smile and wished them goodnight. She had always been given good tips when she delivered to the news reporter, so she hoped they would enjoy the extra coupons she slipped between two of the boxes.

After a few more runs, thankfully closer to home, Edith was off for the night. It wasn't until she got home that she realized that she needed to go to the store to get a few things she would regret not having for the next few days. She could just go in the morning, but she really didn't want to go out during the day. Plus she would have to take Polly with her if she did.

After deciding what she needed, she took a marker and wrote a list on her arm, knowing if she wrote it on paper it would be lost before she ever made it to the store. With her phone in hand and her backpack on her back, Edith made her way down the stairs and out the front lobby. She walked down the block to the 24 hour grocery store, grabbing a cart and taking off down the isles. Rolling up her sleeve, she checked to see what she needed, grabbing little snacks and things to cook as she went.

At nearly four in the morning, not a lot of people were shopping for food. So when shouts were heard, and the obvious click of a gun being cocked echoed throughout the store, Edith immediately tensed.

"Open the register!"

Peaking around the isle, her eyes landed on the gunman, and the shaking cashier the weapon was being aimed at. The poor guy couldn't have been much older than her, and he flinched when the offender yelled again.

"I said open the fucking register!"

"I can't," he choked out. "It only opens when you buy something!"

Edith quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket, trying to contact the police while also keeping her eyes on the two at the front. The cashier had nowhere to run, he was trapped behind the counter and probably couldn't move fast enough to avoid a bullet hitting somewhere on his body. Before Edith could press the call button, she felt cold metal pressing into the back of her neck.

"Drop the phone, now." A raspy voice commanded.

She immediately did as told, letting her phone slip from her hand and fall to the floor. An arm wrapped around her middle and pulled her back into a hard chest, making Edith squirm. She tried to wiggle out of his grip, but froze as the man put the gun to her temple.

"Don't even try." He chuckled darkly.

The words made her stomach drop and bale rise in her throat. She was hauled up and dragged out into the open, her feet kicking out in retaliation. When she looked ahead, her eyes locked with the cashier's. Tears ran freely down his face, and he was shaking like a maraca. The register was open, and from what she could see, all the money was gone.

"Come on, we ain't got all night!" The man holding her grumbled. The other guy was stuff his back with what she guessed was cash.

"I got it, let's go."

Before either of them could move very far, a deep, gruff voice rang out.

"I don't think so."

All of the lights above then suddenly went out, leaving them in almost completely darkness. The man, who still held Edith tightly around the waist, tensed and cursed out loud.

"It's the fucking turtles!" The other one yelled out.

Edith's mind was running rampant. Between the shouting and the gun pressed against her head, she couldn't process anything. The two men seemed to be freaking out, hearing the other guy scream before she was promptly dropped to the ground. The gun that had held her in place clattered on the floor next to her. Edith groaned, her shoulder taking most of the impact.

Everything had gone quiet, the only sound was quite talking she couldn't make out. Suddenly, a voice rang out.

"Hey, it's the pizza girl!"

Edith's head snapped in the direction of the voice, and in the back of her mind she recognized it from somewhere. She couldn't make out much in the dark, but she could clearly see the very large outline standing in between the isles. It looked like a man to her, but it was much...bulkier. Edith titled her head in confusion, wounding if she had whacked it on the floor when she fell.

Before she couldn't stand, lights flashed outside. Edith could see the red and blue lights through the windows, and she decided that she had never been happier to see the police. When she turned back, whatever had been standing there was gone, and not long after the lights came back on. She hissed as black dots swam in her vision, the loud voices of the cops coming in making her head throb. When she could finally see, she sat up and looked around.

The cops were dragging the two men out, who had somehow been tied up. It was only as they walked by that she clearly saw the one who had held the gun to her head, and she nearly choked on air when she saw the purple and black ink curling against his neck and cheek.

Before she could throw up her empty stomach, a hand settled on her shoulder, making her flinch. The police officer helped her stand and guided her over to sit next to the cashier, who she learned was named Caleb.

He was still shaking badly, and his breathing was coming out in wheezes. Edith realized he was having a panic attack and quickly tried to calm him before he passed out. She did her best to speak in a calm, soothing voice and told him that everything was okay now, that they were safe. Fresh tears fell from his eyes and he pulled his knees to his chest. Edith rubbed his back soothingly, hoping he would be ok.

One of the cops came up to them, asking them questions and giving Edith her phone. She told him what had happened, from the attempted holdup to the light cutting off. The cop didn't seemed surprised and told them they were clear to go home.

Caleb had calmed down, and the two made their way outside. Edith was about to start walking home when she was stopped.

"You want a ride?" Caleb asked her, the door of his small car already open. Edith shook her head.

"I live down the block, I'll be fine." She said, more to assure herself than him.

"I wouldn't be too sure after what we just went through, but if your certain." She nodded and said her goodbye, talking off down the sidewalk.

Her pace was quick, and she was constantly turning her head to make sure she wasn't being followed. By the time she made it to her building, she was practically running up the stairs, quickly unlocking her door and barricading herself inside.

Edith dropped her bag and slowly took off her shoes, not caring to take off anything else but her glasses before she crawled into her bed, covering herself with one of the many blankets.

Once she was in the safety of her home, Edith finally let what had happened fall over her, and she slowly started to cry. She sobbed into her pillows until her eyes stung and she was sure she couldn't squeeze out anymore tears, then continued to lay there with a blank mind until she finally fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Edith did not go to work the next night.

When she woke up, her head pounding and her shoulder was throbbing. After at least twenty seconds of trying to remember why she felt like shit, it finally hit her.

She could have been hurt (technically she was). She could have died. In the hands of a purple dragon, she could have had _everything_ taken away form her.

Edith did her best to push those dark thoughts from her mind and try to drag herself from her bed. Her shoulder throbbed painfully in protest as she sat up, and she questioned whether or not she really wanted to get up. After a long mental debate over her responsibilities, she finally got up.

Her head spun when she first tried to stand and she quickly had to catch herself on the nightstand before she fell over. Once Edith was sure she was okay, she shuffled to the bathroom to asses the damage. After pulling off the clothes she had passed out in, she could see a few new bruises that stood out against the older ones and splotches of ink.

The largest went from the tip of her shoulder to the bottom of her upper arm. The spot was where she landed when she had been suddenly dropped onto the floor. The other two were much smaller, one being on her hip(also from when she hit the ground) and the other went across her stomach.

Edith had always bruised easily, and it had gotten her into some awkward situations when she was younger. She's always hated it, for it made people think that she was weak.

Edith sighed and took two pain killers, then turned on the shower. She just stood under the water for awhile, her mind going back to the dark places she tried to forget. She tried to think positive, be thankful that all she got was a few bruises and not something worse, but it was hard when she remembered all of the news reports she had read about what the purple dragons could be capable of. Especially to small, defenseless women like her.

She shut off the water and toweled herself dry, being careful of the new, tinder skin around her body. Once she was dressed comfortably in a pair sweatpants and her hoodie, Edith set out to take her mind off of what happened less than a few hours ago.

The light of day had been peaking through the small opening of the dark curtains Edith had hanging over her one large window for a while now. She thought about opening them and letting light in, but decided against it. She was doing well enough to try and be productive on her extra days off. She had found an envelope in the kitchen that had been slipped under the door. There was a note written on the front and she clearly recognized Ms. Cooper's handwriting.

 _Hi Edith, I wanted to let you know that I won't be working for the next few days and will be keeping Polly myself. Thank you so much for taking care of her like you have. Have a good night, and please be safe at work._

 _Love, Ms. Cooper._

Inside the envelope was her months pay for watching the small dog. Eighty dollars.

After putting the money away, Edith decided what she was going to be spending her extra days off doing.

Edith always went to the same thing when she needed to get her mind off of something.

Cleaning.

It gave her a sense of productiveness and allowed her to focus her mind on one thing to get whatever she needed done.

She started with the floor, picking up the many stray blankets and pillows and throwing them on her bed. Then she picked up her clothes, setting what was clean on her couch and throwing the dirties in the hamper. Then she picked up the trash, and anything else that didn't belong on the floor.

One of the great thing about Edith's apartment building was that it was right next to a laundromat. All she had to do was stuff her shit into a clothes basket and walk next door. Lucky Edith didn't wear much, mostly pants (and she usually only wore the same three pair) and socks.

After dragging her clothes wagon(as she liked to call it) out of her closet, she started putting her dirty clothes, and anything else that needed washing into it. Edith decided to also wash her sheets and blankets, and while there were to many to actually take in one trip, she pulled off the main stuff she slept with and folded it for easy travel.

Once Edith had everything packed up, she pulled on her shoes and grabbed a pair of sunglasses for the morning light. She pulled the clothes wagon out into the hall and locked her door, putting the keys in her backpack before heading to the elevator. When she made it down to the lobby she waved to the desk worker (who looked surprised to see her out during the day) and pulled her wagon out the door. She didn't make it far before her eyes started burning and she had to put on her sunglasses.

Edith's walk to the laundry mat took less than a few minutes and she quickly pulled her stuff inside, dropping herself at the first empty washer she came to. After paying for the tokens to run the machine, she loaded her blankets into one washer and her clothes into another. They didnt all fit in one load so she was going to wash the rest after. Once both machines were running, she pulled herself up onto a broken dryer and started playing on her phone.

After a while her mind started drifting back to the night before. Though instead of the morbid thoughts she was prone to, she started to focus on something else instead.

Something had saved her, and it defiantly wasn't the cops. The only thing that stood out in her mind was the oddly familiar voice that she still couldn't place. Everything else had moved so fast that she wasn't completely sure what exactly had happened. Though she did notice that when the police did arrive, and they had been told what happened, they didn't seem surprised at all. That meant that it had happened before, and it will likely happen again.

Edith started pulling up articles on her phone, some writing by actual journalist, others by random people on social media. There wasn't much on the subject, but it was enough for her to become interested. Vigilantes in New York was right up her ally. She continued to look through peoples' post, hoping to find some sort of large clue.

The machines beeped, signaling that it was time to put them in the dryer. She decided to use one of the large dryers and shoved everything in together, not wanting to do it separately. Edith loaded the rest of her things into a washer, then went back to her phone, pulling some headphones out of her backpack.

Her search led her to an article on tumblr, the writer having apparently been dragged into an ally and nearly sexually assaulted before she was saved. She accounts that her attacker was dragged into the dark by a chain, the her purse was thrown at her feet and a deep voice told her to find a safe place. She yelled 'thank you' into the ally then ran off. It stated that she never saw her savior, and the majority of the stories end this way.

By the time the laundry was done she had completed a list of things to search and people to talk to when she got the time. She piled her now clean things into her wagon and closed it, putting on her sunglasses before walking outside.

Edith quickly made her way back to her apartment, dumping her clothes onto her bed. Her stomach growled as she started folding, placing her sheets back on mattress and her clothes in her closet. When everything was out away she opened her fridge in the hopes of finding something to eat, but sadly came up with nothing. She had never gotten to finish her shopping because of the at attack, which meant she had to go back to the store.

Edith groaned and grabbed her backpack, heading out the door. She really didn't want to go out again, especially during the day, but she also needed to be responsible and get some real food. She slowly made her way down the stairs and out the door, heading back to the grocery store a few blocks down. She wasn't surprised to that the store was still open, even after the events of the night before, though now there was a cop sitting in the parking lot.

She walked in and grabbed a cart, switching out her sunglasses for her prescription lenses. She had written a small list of the things she absolutely needed on her arm, throwing extra things into the cart as she moved down the isles. She stocked up on food, grabbing lots of canned goods and instant noodles.

Edith was reaching up to the top shelf to grab some cup noodles when she noticed something caught between two shelves. It was an orange strip of cloth, hanging in the spot where the two shelves met. She pulled it free, inspecting it in her hand. It looked like it had been tore off of some sort of old scarf, the color having faded over time.

Edith's mind started running again, her memory flashing to the night before. She remembered coming down this isle, reaching for the noodles in almost this exact same spot, but the cloth hadn't been there before. The logical part of her mind told her that it could have been left from someone this morning, but she honestly doubted it. She tied the cloth around her backpack handle and moved on, grabbing a few noodle cups before heading to the frozen section.

Edith finished her shopping and headed home, carrying her bags down the block. She already had an idea of what she wanted to research once she made it back, the mental list getting bigger as she entered the building. She set the bags on the counter as she walked into her room and shut the door with her foot. She went about putting everything away, leaving out some things to cook for later.

Edith grabbed her laptop and turned it on, pulling up her writing page. She also grabbed her notebook, which held most of her planning for what she wrote. She started jotting down the information she already had, filling nearly an entire page with her tiny scrawl. She then when back to look over the articles she had found to make sure there wasn't anything she had missed.

She took a break to make herself some food, chicken and vegetables, scrolling through her social medias as she ate. She didn't have to go back to work until the next night, so she had the rest of the day and tonight to get her information in order.

Edith was honestly excited to write about what she had found. Other topics had bored her, leaving her only to write so she could get paid, but this was exciting. It held promise to turn into something much bigger if she played her cards right. She just had to find the right clues to figure everything out.


End file.
